My Chicks from Sunnyside Hatchery Arrived!

I’m Back in the Chicken ‘Business!’

My homestead really doesn’t seem much like a homestead without some chickens. So I placed an order for 25 chicks from Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and waited impatiently.

I’ll be honest with you, going almost 9 months without chickens was kind of nice. At least, it was nice for a while. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take care of chickens while I recuperated from hip replacement surgery over the winter, so my flock went to another farm. Many thanks to Trogg’s Hollow Farm for giving my laying hens a good home! It was getting pretty difficult to take care of my flock last year, so I knew it was time to take a break from chicken keeping and concentrate on my health.

This page contains affiliate links. You will not pay any extra when you purchase products through these links, but I will receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting The Self Sufficient HomeAcre!

What Kind of Chickens Should I Order?

Now, I’ve been itching to get some more chickens for a couple of months. I looked at numerous hatchery websites, weighed my options, overthought and talked about it, probably to the point of being annoying. ‘What breeds should I get? Should I get just meat chickens and process them before we go on vacation this summer? If I get layers, what breed? Heritage? Hybrid? Brown eggs? White? Green? Straight run? All pullets?’

Sheesh woman, give it a rest! Kudos to my husband for just playing along and telling me to do whatever I want. 🙂

I’ve had White Leghorns in the past and they provide lots of white eggs for the amount of feed they consume.

Placing the Order

I decided to try Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. I’ve never ordered from them before. They are a small family operation, not that far from our homestead. All chicks are given Marek’s vaccinations at no extra cost and the shipping is included in the prices. And, since we are on a budget, their prices were very attractive…as in, the lowest prices I have found. They are pretty limited on breed selection so I had to compromise a bit.

I like the Cornish x for meat production. Although, Sunnyside Hatchery also carries Freedom Rangers. Maybe I’ll order some of those in the fall.

So, what I really wanted to order was: 15 Cornish x meat chicks, and 10 mixed heritage dual purpose breeds. I was thinking about Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers, Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds…a smorgasbord of pretty chickens . The only heritage layers Sunnyside carries are White Leghorns, a light weight breed with a high feed to egg conversion rate. I opted for a smaller upfront investment, low feed bills, and high egg production over pretty. My final order was 15 Cornish x and 10 White Leghorn, all straight run.

The were pretty thirsty!

Operation Hatchery Order Complete…

New Chicks Are Here!

The post office called me Wednesday morning to come pick up my chicks. I grabbed my keys and hit the road. Well, I put on pants first. And poured a mug of coffee to go. The nice lady at the Post Office checked my ID to make sure I wasn’t a random weirdo trying to steal someone else’s chicks. (You never know.)

The scent of death emanated from the box, drat. But there was a lot of cheeping, so it sounded like most of them were okay. I had the heat turned up in the car to keep them warm on the way home.

When I got my box of chicks to the chicken coop and opened it up, sure enough, there was one that died. You get used to it after living on the homestead for a while. (I called the hatchery later and they are giving me credit for the chick that died. I plan to order another batch of Cornish x in the fall, so I am pleased with their response.) The rest of them seemed healthy and lively. So I got busy.

Electrolytes and probiotics to keep them healthy.

Teaching Chicks to Drink

Chicks usually start drinking and eating on their own without any problem. However, it’s a good idea to dip the tip of their beak in the water (just the tip!) so they get a sip of water. As I pulled each chick out of the box, I dipped its beak in the water and made sure it swallowed a bit, then set it down in the brooder. They all went back for another sip, which is a very good sign.

Electrolytes & Probiotics

I put electrolytes and probiotics in their water to get them off to a healthy start. I use packets of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes and probiotics for my newly hatched chicks. Each packet is mixed into a gallon of water. It has to be mixed fresh daily, so I only make 1 quart of solution each day to make the packets last longer.

Heat Lamp

I realized pretty quick that the seedling heat mats were not keeping the chicks warm enough. They were all huddled together and starting to pile up for warmth. I got a heat lamp set up with a 250 watt red heat bulb hanging over their brooder and adjusted it. After waiting a few minutes, they were still huddling up, so I lowered the lamp and watched. Finally they stopped piling up for warmth and started to acclimate to their new brooder.

I Can’t Sit Around Playing with Chicks All Day

Although I wanted to hang out watching the little chicks all day, I had work to do! I spent the day burning off the garden, setting up my Redneck Cold Frame, and hauling straw and supplies. Every so often I stopped in to make sure the chicks were doing well.

So far all of the remaining chicks are healthy and they are eating and drinking and being cute little fluff balls. It’s hard to tell the meat chicks from the layers at this point, but in a few days the Cornish x will start to take off in growth and I’ll know who’s who.

Do you have chicks on your homestead this spring? Have you ever ordered from Sunnyside Hatchery? Leave a comment!

This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. You will not pay any extra for these products and I’ll earn a small commission to help support this blog.

Lisa writes in-depth articles about gardening and homesteading topics. She grew up on a farm and has continued learning about horticulture, animal husbandry, and home food preservation ever since. She has earned an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is a self proclaimed gardening freak and crazy chicken lady.

In addition to writing for her own websites, Lisa has contributed articles to The Prepper Project and Homestead.org.

The author lives outside of Chicago with her husband, son, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a variety of poultry.

About Lisa Lombardo

Lisa writes in-depth articles about gardening and homesteading topics. She grew up on a farm and has continued learning about horticulture, animal husbandry, and home food preservation ever since. She has earned an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is a self proclaimed gardening freak and crazy chicken lady.
In addition to writing for her own websites, Lisa has contributed articles to The Prepper Project and Homestead.org.
The author lives outside of Chicago with her husband, son, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a variety of poultry.

4 comments on “My Chicks from Sunnyside Hatchery Arrived!”

I recieved 50 cornish x from them on 8-5-2018, so they are a Little over 5 weeks old.
I’m guessing they are 2 1/2 to 3lbs live weight. I was planning on butchering October 6th which would put them about 9 weeks. They seem to be growing slow.

3 weeks before the Cornish x, I got 25 rangers from them. They are doing great.im going to guess 4-5lbs.

I’m feeding a 22% protein feed.
They have auto nipple waterers.
Fenced in coop is 130’x30′.

The cornish x are or lime I remember, I thought they would be 3-4,5 lbs already.

I recieved 50 cornish x from them on 8-5-2018, so they are a Little over 5 weeks old.
I’m guessing they are 2 1/2 to 3lbs live weight. I was planning on butchering October 6th which would put them about 9 weeks. They seem to be growing slow.

3 weeks before the Cornish x, I got 25 rangers from them. They are doing great.im going to guess 4-5lbs.

I’m feeding a 22% protein feed.
They have auto nipple waterers.
Fenced in coop is 130’x30′.

The cornish x are or lime I remember, I thought they would be 3-4,5 lbs already.

Probiotics and Electrolytes for Chicks

Tips for Setting Up a Heat Lamp…

My Dad’s Drawknives…

Do you want to be more self reliant?
Me too!
Do you like getting dirt under your fingernails?
So do I!
If you want to learn homesteading skills, like raising chickens and preserving the harvest for winter, you've come to the right place.
I'm Lisa Lynn and this is The Self Sufficient HomeAcre. I started this blog to share my adventures in homesteading and self sufficiency. If I can do this stuff, so can you! After all, I'm just...
One Homemaker with One Acre on a Quest for Self Sufficiency!

This Site Uses Cookies…
The Self Sufficient HomeAcre is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. You will not pay any extra for these products. This site uses cookies to track your purchases through Amazon.
This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services, to personalize ads and to analyze traffic. Information about your use of this site is shared with Google.
Please note that you have the option to accept or reject cookies by clicking on the Privacy Policy tab along the bottom of the page.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Click on Accept or Reject AcceptRejectCookies & Privacy Policy Please be advised that if you click on Reject, you will not see most of the advertisements on The Self Sufficient HomeAcre. I hand select each ad according to its relevancy to the information in my posts, and I only show ads for products that I feel will be useful for my readers. The commission I receive from purchases made through these ads allows me to continue offering my website as a free service. Thank you for reading The Self Sufficient HomeAcre ~ Lisa Lynn